If you thought Tesla's cars were the most innovative electric vehicles around, think again.

Aircraft maker Airbus Group NV is learning from carmakers as it works on developing a small plane powered by hybrid electric engines that could represent its first move into the market for regional jets.

The development of a regional plane, seating between 70 and 90 people, that can take off and land using electric power could take between 15 and 20 years, Airbus Group Chief Technology Officer Jean Botti told reporters in Munich.

Airbus, which with Boeing dominates the market for passenger jets, presently makes planes that seat more than 150 people.

They are already working on an all-electric two-seater plane called the E-Fan, powered by two electric motors with a combined output of 60 kilowatts, hoping this technology will serve as a step to bringing electric motors on to larger aircraft.

HOW DOES THE E-FAN WORK?

The E-Fan uses a pair of motors with ducted fans powered by a battery.

It has a wingspan of 31.2 feet (9.5 metres) and weighs 1,212 pounds (550 kilograms)

It can fly for about half an hour at 110 miles (177 kilometres) per hour.

One
of the main landing gear wheels has a small electric motor that can
propel the airplane up to 35 miles (55 km) per hour to maximise flight
time.

The two-seater, which Airbus says is suited for short missions such as pilot training and aerobatics, can run on its lithium-ion polymer batteries for half an hour, with the aim to get it up to an hour.

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The batteries are tricky, though, Botti says: 'They're causing us a lot of headaches.'

Botti, who was part of a team developing battery-powered cars at General Motors Co more than 20 years ago, said Airbus was looking at electric cars in order to learn from them.

But he declined to comment on how much the group was investing in hybrid and electric technologies.

A pilot sits inside the EADS model of the E-Fan 2.0 prototype electric aircraft during a presentation at the Merignac airport. The E-Fan is a technology demonstrator of a fully electrically-powered, all-composite aircraft